Injured nine-year-old out of hospital in time for Christmas

MOMENTS before Amy Young's worst nightmare began to play out in front of her, she had planned to take her family home to set up the Christmas tree.

Although she was 300m away from where a group of people rushed to help a crashed motorbike rider at Donnybrook Station, near the top of the Eton Range, she knew it was her nine-year-old daughter Mia.

By the time she reached her, blood was coming out her daughters nose and ears and although Mia was conscious, she didn't register when her mum came close.

"There was one point when she was looking straight at me but crying out for me. She wasn't registering I was there," Mrs Young said.

"It was terrible."

Even though Mia had been wearing a helmet when she crashed, the fluid coming from her ears, prompted the Mackay Base Hospital doctors to do a cat-scan.

Mrs Young said when the doctor returned "the look on his face was like in a movie" and he said it was a lot worse than they thought.

Mia was promptly flown to Townsville Hospital.

But in the weeks following the November 26 crash Townsville Hospital director of neurosurgery Dr Eric Guazzo noted Mia's injury was unusual because it didn't heal spontaneously and fluid continued to leak from her brain.

"This meant we needed to make an incision above Mia's ear, take out a small piece of bone from her skull to allow access to the fracture, which was under the brain, and use tissue from above her ear to repair her fracture and brain lining," he said.

Last Wednesday, as Mrs Young, dad Andrew and two younger sisters Scarlett and Summer waited nervously, Mia underwent the surgery.

The operation took three hours.

Although she is still tired, and won't be able to play basketball for a year, it was a success.

After three weeks in hospital she was allowed to return to her Slade Point home on Monday.

To celebrate, Mrs Young said all the family came around, including Mia's beloved dog Missy, and together they finally set up the Christmas tree.

"We waited for her to put it up. I am so grateful that she's recovered and is home," she said.

Mrs Young also took the chance to thanks the hospital staff, doctors, the Ronald McDonald house, family, friends and Mia's school St Joseph's Catholic Primary School for all their support.